Movie Reviews

‘The Antichrist’ (1974) Blu-Ray Review – Possession Shocker Capitalizes On ‘Exorcist’ Success

By Dillon Gonzales
March 13, 2022
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It’s The Exorcist, Italian style, in this Satanic shocker from director Alberto De Martino (Shadows in an Empty Room). In Rome, a beautiful young woman (Carla Gravina, Alfredo, Alfredo) is left paralyzed by the trauma of a horrific childhood accident. But when placed under hypnosis, she is seized by visions of her past life as a heretic and becomes a foul-mouthed seductress with a taste for perversion that leads to her defilement by Satan himself. Now, mankind’s only hope for salvation is a harrowing exorcism that will either cast out the Devil forever or open the door for the unspeakable birth of the Antichrist! Mel Ferrer (Nightmare City), Arthur Kennedy (Killer Cop), George Coulouris (Citizen Kane), Alida Valli (Suspiria), Umberto Orsini (Violent City) and Anita Strindberg (Almost Human) round out the cast of this puke-spewing cult classic, with cinematography by Eurosleaze king Joe D’Amato (Beyond the Darkness) and music by maestros Ennio Morricone (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) and Bruno Nicolai (A Full Day’s Work). Experience The Antichrist, also known as The Tempter, in all its uncut—and unholy—glory!

For thoughts on The Antichrist, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic here.

Video Quality

The Antichrist makes its Blu-Ray debut courtesy of Kino Classics with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1 that is derived from a brand new 4K restoration by Studiocanal. The only word to describe this presentation is beautiful. The striking photography which captures both the domestic spaces and the countryside sparkles in high definition with natural grain intact and nicely resolved. There is a fantastic amount of detail present with nice textures on the clothing and production design. The new transfer shows off a great amount of depth and enhanced detail. There are certain elements like close-up shots of bile that look quite striking in their clarity. There are some special effects shots that look dated, but that is not a fault of the transfer. Black levels are deep with no trace of black crush or compression artifacts. The contrast is well defined, and there is virtually no print damage to be found outside a few stray moments. This presentation is an excellent effort that should please fans.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mono tracks in English and Italian (with optional English subtitles). Dialogue sounds perfectly clear without sound effects or the score trouncing on important information. The film employs some powerful sound effects in the form of terrifying moments that are given the appropriate weight within the mix. The film is more of a straightforward dialogue-driven affair with only sporadic frights leading up to the climax. The score from Ennio Morricone comes through nicely in relation to the competing sounds. This presentation presents everything accurately with pleasing fidelity and without damage or other unwanted issues.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Author/Film Historian Lee Gambin and Film Critic Sally Christie provide a very informative and entertaining commentary track in which they discuss the nods to The Exorcist, the careers of the talent involved, the reception and legacy of the film, tales about the production of the film, the subversion of older tropes and more.

Raising Hell: A 10-minute vintage featurette in which Director/Co-Writer Alberto De Martino and Composer Ennio Morricone discuss the film including its unique cultural point of view, the non-religious aspects of the film, the distinct color palette, the special effects, the creation of the film’s score and more.

The Tempter Opening Credits: The minute-long opening credits with the alternate title is provided here in rough quality.

TV Spot: A 30-second TV spot for The Antichrist (The Tempter) is provided here.

Trailers: There are trailers provided for The Mephisto Waltz, Phobia, Burnt Offerings, and Zoltan…Hound of Dracula.

Final Thoughts

The Antichrist certainly pays homage to classics like The Exorcist, but there are enough differences to keep it from being a complete ripoff. The best reason to seek out this film is the committed performance from Carla Gravina. This is never going to be listed among the greats, but it is a fairly entertaining thriller that has a notable command of tone. Kino Classics has released a Blu-Ray featuring a strong A/V presentation and a nice assortment of special features. If you are looking for an exorcism tale abroad, this should work well for you. Recommended

The Antichrist is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.